Basement Level 5: Never Scared (21 page)

CHAPTER 20

November 5, 2011, Misti’s, Coney Island
:

At Misti’s, Adam Neal sat by himself in his usual corner booth. He was worried about Janine. She hadn’t sounded right when he talked to her on the phone. In fact, she was totally out of character. He tried to chalk it up to her being at work, but the more he thought about it, the more worried he became.

They were too close to their goal to mess up now. Although, parts of him wanted to forget he ever met Melissa, he missed his brother, Erik, too much to back down. He hated the Martinez group because he thought they had destroyed Erik. Even though they didn’t technically pull the trigger, they had set the events of that night in motion. Alexa had lied to Erik for months, making him think she loved only him. She played him and never intended to be with him. She only wanted Dro. And Dro had punked Erik too many times to count. Adam hated them both.

He observed the new waitress, on the other side of the diner, waiting on customers. Janine was fifteen minutes late. He had called her numerous times in the last hour, but she didn’t pick up. Melissa would be here any minute.

The new waitress sauntered over to his booth. “Refill?” she asked gruffly.

He slid his mug back and forth on the table. “Sure. Are you new here?”

“
Yes I am,” she replied, smacking on her gum. “Can I get you started on anything?”

He winced at her homely looks. The black waitress wore thick rimmed glasses and a blonde wig, which were quite unattractive. Her eyes, though, were a deep hunter green. When she smiled, he noticed a gold tooth in her mouth. He trailed his eyes down her lumpy body. She was a far cry from the cute little blond that used to wait on him.

“
I would like the chopped salad with extra raspberry vinaigrette,” he said with an air of superiority.

The waitress scribbled on her small notepad. “Will you be eating alone this evening?”

“
No, I’m expecting two more people.”

She slipped the pad of paper in the pocket of her apron. “Okay, holla if you need me.” She stuck her pencil into her bleached wig.

He rolled his eyes as she walked away. He surmised that the owner must have been desperate to hire the woman. In Adam’s opinion, she was horrendous. He hated to see black women with blonde hair. In his mind, black women were some of the most beautiful women on the planet—but this woman was a far cry from beautiful.

He took another sip of coffee and opened the New York Times app on his smart phone while he waited.

The homely waitress brought his food back ten minutes later with a lopsided smile. “Here you go.” She set his plate and the extra side of dressing in front of him. Once he picked his fork up, she poured more coffee into his mug. “Enjoy.”

As she turned to walk away, the bell chimed and Melissa entered the restaurant in her black mink coat. Adam rolled his eyes again. Melissa was one of the worst women he’d ever known. She reeked of smelly, but expensive, perfume and flaunted her wealth wherever she went. She was disgusting. But she was a means to an end for him.

Melissa skipped the pleasantries and slid into the booth. “Where’s Janine?”

“
She was held up at work.” Or at least that was what he hoped.

She waved her hand to signal the waitress after she pulled her gloves off. “Well, we have to start without her. I have to leave town tonight.”

The waitress waltzed over to the table. “What can I get you Ma’am?”

Melissa crinkled her nose at the waitress. “Ma’am? I assure you I’m no one’s Ma’am. I need a coffee and extra cream.”

The waitress pulled out her pad of paper and snatched the pencil out of her hair. “There’s cream on the table, Ma’am. Did you want to place an order? Can I interest you in the fish and chips? They’re on special today.”

Melissa rolled her eyes and snorted. “I wouldn’t eat the food here if you paid me. I need plenty of cream with my coffee, thank you.”

The waitress scratched her forehead with her pen. Her brow creased. “I’ll be right with you, Ma’am.”

Adam snickered when he heard Melissa curse her under her breath that the waitress dared to call her Ma’am. She went on like that for several minutes until the woman came back with a piping hot coffee dispenser.

She poured the coffee into an empty mug and tossed a new bowl of creamers in front of Melissa. “Is there anything else you need?”

Melissa waved her off as if she was insignificant. “No, I’ll call you if I need anything.”

The waitress paused for a minute and then shuffled over to the counter.

He watched as the frustrated woman cracked her neck and then proceeded to wipe down some tables. He turned and scrutinized Melissa as she dumped tons of cream into her coffee mug. “What’s going on? Why did you need to meet?”

Melissa leaned closer. “We have a problem.”

“
What kind of problem?” he asked, keeping his tone even. “Janine delivered you their location. What could have possibly happened?”

She shifted in her seat. “We lost some of our men. Apparently, they sent someone ahead to secure the place and there was gun play. The kids never showed up. One of their men is down, though. Nicholas Cass? Do you know him?”

He swallowed a bite of chicken. “He works very closely with them. Janine knew him from a college friend. He’s the one who got her into Martinez. She’ll be upset to hear this.”

Melissa opened five packets of Splenda and emptied them into her coffee. “I’m leaving town tonight, Adam. It’s getting too hot here for me.”

“
What about us?” Adam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You can’t just leave, Melissa. We’ve come too far.”

She stirred her coffee with a spoon. “I haven’t abandoned the plan, but I have to assume that stupid ass Tommy sang before he ‘disappeared.’ Dro may come looking for me. I have to get out of here. Don’t worry, I’ll be in touch.”

Adam was growing more frustrated by the minute. “Cut the crap, Melissa. You walk out of here, and I’ll never see you again. In the meantime, you have my assets frozen in that damn bank of yours.”

Her eyes flashed to his. “And they’ll stay that way until I get what I want.”

He leaned forward, clenching his fists together. He wanted to choke the life out of her. “You’re lucky I want the same thing you want. Or I would definitely wipe that smirk off of your face.”

She pushed her coffee mug toward him as she stood up, spilling some on the table. “You better be careful who you’re talking to like that. I can make it so your future is very dismal. Just keep quiet and you’ll get your money back in due time, plus some additional funds when I take over Martinez Security.”

He rested his back against the booth and twiddled his thumbs. “You’re so sure that you’re holding all the cards.”

She sneered at him, pointing a crooked finger in his face. “Don’t be so sure I’m not. You and Janine just stay in line and everything will work out fine.”

He grabbed her wrist and jerked her back into the booth. “Look, I don’t like this. You said it would be easy once Janine gave you the location to the safe houses. She gave you the whole list. You had ample opportunity to grab Alexa and her children. You couldn’t do it. Why should I believe that you’ll hold up your end of the deal now?”

She struggled to pull her arm away as he dug his fingers into her skin. Smoothing her wiry hair down with her other hand, she swallowed. “Let go of me Adam before I scream bloody murder.”

He loosened the grip on her arm and she snatched it away. He picked up his knife and fork, while she rubbed her arm.

“
Just hang tight,” she hissed. “Everything will be okay.”

He stabbed a piece of lettuce with his fork. “It better be,” he warned before taking another bite of his salad.

Just then, the waitress ambled back over to the table. “Are you alright? It looked like things were pretty heated over here.”

He lifted his eyes from his plate and assessed the waitress. “We’re fine. She was just leaving.”

Melissa scowled at the waitress, then Adam. “He’s paying for my coffee,” she stated as she rose to her feet. She smoothed her skirt and buttoned her coat.

The waitress arched a brow at him. “Is this correct sir? Are you really paying for her coffee?”

Adam gave Melissa a dirty look. “Yes, I’ll take care of it.”

Melissa turned to the waitress. “Can you please get me a cup to go?” She eyed Adam. “I’ll be in touch.” She looked around the diner, her nose turned up. “This place is dead. Do you realize we’re the only people here?”

“
Who cares?” Adam replied. “I like it when there aren’t many people around.”

The waitress headed toward the table, fumbling with the “To Go” coffee container. “I hate these things,” she confessed. “I’m sorry, Ma’am. I’m having the darnedest time getting the lid to fit on the cup.”

Melissa rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it’s not rocket science.”

The waitress played around with the cup some more. The paper cup slipped from her hand and spattered on the floor and on Melissa’s shoes.

“
Oh my God,” Melissa screeched. “Do you realize I paid fifteen hundred dollars for these shoes?” She grabbed some napkins from the table and bent to wipe her shoes off.

The waitress backed away from her. “I’m sorry, Ma’am. I didn’t mean to ruin your shoes.”

Adam surveyed the waitress curiously. She didn’t look sorry at all. He tilted his head and studied her. She was familiar to him now that he thought about it. He eyed her while she watched Melissa carry on about those damn shoes. She must have felt him looking at her because she turned to him, meeting his stare with her emerald colored eyes.

Next thing he knew, she stepped up to Melissa’s bent form and kicked her in the chin, knocking her flat on her back. She was out cold.

The waitress slid into the vacant spot in the booth, across from Adam. Then Adam heard the click of her gun. “Hi, Adam. Glad to see me.”

His eyes widened as the waitress tugged the blond wig off. The glasses came next and then the contacts. He was looking into the eyes of the beautiful, but deadly Alexa.

***

May 15, 1998
:

Adam stared at his brother’s casket and he wondered how he got there. His brother, Erik, was never someone he strived to be like, but they were still brothers. He glanced at his weeping mother. Although she was trying to be strong, she was barely holding it together.

Adam faced the casket again. It was a plain oak casket, one of the cheapest ones in the funeral home. It wasn’t fancy like some of the ones the funeral home tried to get them to buy. His mother wanted to buy Erik the best casket she could find, but she didn’t have the money. It was pointless anyway. Why bury someone in a casket that cost as much as a car? Especially when she needed a new car? But Elizabeth Neal was hurting for her son, and couldn’t bear the thought of her baby being lowered underground in a cheap, uncomfortable box.

He scanned the crowd. The sanctuary was filled with tons of high school students, his classmates. They had come to the funeral to catch a glimpse of his dead brother and offer pointless and meaningless words of comfort. They came out in droves and he guessed it was because of his brother’s athletic prowess on the football field. Erik Neal was the schools star quarterback after all.

He sat still, wishing time would move a little faster. When he saw Alexa enter the church, he noticed there were plenty of stares—and some glares. Alexa was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. And she was looking right at him. Normally she would smile and he would blush profusely, but not this time. She was the reason he was here. She was the reason his brother was dead.

She walked up to the casket. Her dark sunglasses hid her eyes from view, but somehow he knew she’d been crying. He knew that, in some strange way, she was grieving for his brother, too.

Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and she wore a dark gray suit. Her hand skimmed the casket softly before she turned and exited the church.

The day had been a blur. Adam had watched his stepfather practically pull his mother away as the casket was lowered. She was so distraught he wondered if she wanted to jump in with Erik.
Will this nightmare ever end?

After the services were over and the house was empty, he returned to the cemetery to yell at his brother for leaving him. As he approached Erik’s gravesite, he noticed Alexa sitting on the grass next to the big hole that held his brother’s casket.

“
Erik,” he heard her whisper. Her voice was as soft as summer breeze. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that you’re here. I’m sorry you were ever mixed up in this. I can’t believe you’re gone, lying in a wooden box. If I could change that, I would. You deserve to be on a football field calling plays. You deserve to be going to the university in September, playing college ball, getting drafted into the Pros, and falling in love with someone who loves you just as much as you love her. But most of all, I’m sorry I wasn’t the one for you. I’m sorry I didn’t love you like you loved me. I didn’t deserve you as a friend.”

Adam watched as she wiped her moist cheeks. Her hair was no longer in a bun. It was hanging down, long, curly, and draped over her face. She sniffed into her black leather glove. “You would be happy to know that Steve will no longer hurt anyone,” she continued. “He’s gone. And so is his father. I sent your mother a care package with a check for the expenses. It was the least I could do. My Dad happily obliged. He’s sorry too. We all are—even Dro. Erik, I just wanted you to know that you meant more to me than I ever told you. Things didn’t happen right with us and that was my fault. I should have never started a relationship with you knowing I could never commit. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about you though. It was because I loved him—so much. I always have. Thank you for not faulting me for it in the end. Thank you for being such a good friend, even though I didn’t deserve your friendship.”